From back in the day

[Bottom Fodder]

 

[WV Hitman]

Used this when I was in college. I was on an upper floor. Got all kinds of complaints from the lower floor on the "racket" from my room!!

 

[old codger]

I believe I still have three of them on hand.

 

[centerlineseal]

First Kiss!

 

[Bottom Fodder]

Yep when I used that I don’t think I ever annealed and that scope didn’t measure powder to the .0001 lol

 

[ISS]

Yep! I started out with a 30-40 Krag and a Lyman Tong Tool...

 

[BHP9]

I have 2 in the plastic cases, .223 and .308 Win. I started reloading with these.

 

[243winxb]

The other Lee made this one. The case neck was held in the die, while inside was reamed. Very light neck tension. Neck size only.

 

[steve210]

The other Lee made this one. The case neck was held in the die, while inside was reamed. Very light neck tension. Neck size only. View attachment 1721725

I have one of those for a 22-250, loaded a ton of ammo with it and a set of 5-0-5 scales

 

[Pirate69]

My first one was a 300 Win Mag. This is around 1971. When the case was fully driven into the die, there was a bulge at the should. Had to send it back to Lee for a replacement.

 

[Homerange]

The other Lee made this one. The case neck was held in the die, while inside was reamed. Very light neck tension. Neck size only. View attachment 1721725

Have the exact same set in 308W and it was my introduction to handloading pops 308 in the 70's.

Dad found it discounted at his fav gun shop however we could never load what I would call precision ammo and it was a good few years before discovering why.
Instead of dipping powder I invested in an Ohaus 505 scale in an attempt to reduce powder throw errors but we still couldn't group as well as factory ammo but still within a minute of Deer accuracy for the short range bush hunting we mainly did..... 4 yds to 100yds being the norm.

Loved the concept of line boring inside the neck reaming but later after getting a press and some cheap dies for the ever growing arsenal we discovered these Lee Target models oversize the necks so when reamed there was far too much neck clearance when chambered.....maybe this was the reason it was discounted ? ?

Went to the LCD and life has been much simpler......

 

[chop house]

Yup, still have an array of these in all the usual cartridges. Way overworked the necks, and without annealing and reaming or turning the necks the seating force went through the roof. As sometimes did the meplat deformation.

Looking back amazing I didn't blow up a .270, (Now that I am enlightened.)

 

[hoz53]

View attachment 1721608

never got one of those as i got an rcbs jr press when i started. the guy at the loading shop in his garage musta talked me into the press instead of the lee loader. glad he did but i shulda got one somewhere along the line as i missed out on the experience. even though i had the press i loaded with a powder scoop made out of a brass case awhile until i could afford a scale.

 

[ebb]

^^^^ I still load some handgun ammo with a ground off 9MM case as a dipper. The very light charges make my charge master go crazy, the high speed initial dump is so short it is almost nonexistent, and when it thinks it is done it's sometimes already too much.

 

[JEFFPPC]

I started off 64 years ago with Herters. I still use the powder measure for small pistol charges of flake powders. Perfect every dump. My Neil Jones that I use other wise does not play well with those tiny flake powder charges. My original Herters scale still works perfect and it doesn't need a line filter, lol.

 

[K22]

I started with an RCBS Jr. press in the early 70's and it's still going strong in 2025! When I first started, it was strictly for loading pistol ammo. Later I advance to rifled reloading and quickly discovered this is a different ball game if precision is your goal. Fortunately, I found an experienced mentor that set me straight.

However, the Lee Reloading kit was a way for those on a lean budget to make their own ammo. I knew one fellow, an "old timer" who was an avid groundhog hunter that used this kit for his 22 Hornet and later his 222 Rem. Judging by his results in the field, it seemed to work just fine.